Set in a future where the dominant nation is Africa, Reynolds’ novel lays the narrative foundation for what promises to be space opera on the grandest scale. The plot centres on Geoffrey and Sunday Akinya, heirs to a long established family prideful of its place at the top of a corporate empire commanding respect and privilege. But brother and sister have forsaken their birthright and set out on their own paths leaving the running of the business to their Machiavellian cousins.

The siblings reunite following the death of their grandmother Eunice, once a respected explorer of distant planets. By chance (or is it?) Sunday and Geoffrey discover that Eunice had uncovered something during her travels that for reasons unknown couldn’t be revealed in her lifetime. A secret that could destabilise everything the Akinyas hold to be true and alter the destiny of whole universes. Overall this promises to be an ambitious series that whilst satisfying old fans should attract a whole new following.